The promise of fresh investments from major Indian business houses like DLF and Adani Group and more investments from Reliance Industries and ITC Ltd. were made at the Punjab Global Investors’ meet.

Total investments signed in this two-day period accounted for Rs 1.13 lakh crore. This is more than the Rs 63,000 crore investments promised in 2013. Out of the 63,000 crores promised then, only Rs 41,000 crore got germinated. These investments are expected to create 2.5 lakh jobs in the state. The government has also announced a startup fund of $15 million for young entrepreneurs to create a vibrant environment for startups.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said: “Punjab was known as a producer of foodgrains, but it should also be able to add value to its produce. To make Punjab a hub for the agro processing industry, I decided to waive all input taxes of agro-processing industry.”

Outlining the roadmap for Punjab, ICICI Bank CEO, Chanda Kochhar said: “we would leverage technology to collaborate with the government in its e-governance initiatives. We plan to expand our skill development initiatives for the under privileged youth through ICICI Academy for Skills by setting up a 30,000 sq ft skilling centre.”

IE, the business magazine from south was launched in 1968 and pioneered business journalism in south. Through the 45 years IE has been focusing on well-presented and well-researched articles. When giants in the industry stumbled to keep pace with the digital revolution, IE stayed affixed embracing technology.